www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West Eastern reverences when passing a Church

Dear paisano: For the way our taxi drivers drive, one will make the sign of the cross no matter if there's a church or not!!!

Yes Alex we still do the sign of the Cross on the forehead, mouth and heart. In Spain and Mexico (not sure if in all of Latin America) we usually say "For the Sign of the Holy Cross, from our enemies, deliver us Lord, Our God, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit". I was tought to make first the "Little Sign of the Cross" and after saying "deliver us Lord, Our God" the Sign of the Cross should be made.

God bless.

Bernardo

The little signs of the Cross is done at the Gospel reading in many places, although, sadly, it seems it is a custom that is dying out.

We do this when the the priest says, "... a reading from the Holy Gospel according to Saint N."

I was always taught by the Irish half of the family to to say "in our minds, on our lips, and in our hearts" extremely quietly in reference to the Gospel. So that's what I do. The Irish half of my family are all Catholics of the old school - even the youngest of them. No one goes out without rosary beads in their pockets, esp. the soldiers, cops, and firemen among us. You're going to laugh at me for this, but as some of you know, I'm a long distance runner. I tend to be fonder of the Eastern devotions to Mary, but I do say the rosary during ten-milers, since, well it works perfectly. Every mile I complete, I say a Hail Mary. It doesn't slow me down a bit - hey, it might even help - and it's good for the soul. I was influenced by a priest many years ago who said we should pray like the Israelites while we are on the run, with staff in hand and sandals on feet and all. There's a priest in my running club who is a great athlete and he told me he did the same thing.

Back on point, I have noticed that fewer people make the little signs of the Cross at the Gospel these days in some places. The local Roman Catholic diocese in these parts is extremely conservative - one of the two most conservative in the country, or so I've heard. Nearly everyone does it here.

Dear Annie,

Actually, St Seraphim of Sarov and other Orthodox Saints not only proclaimed the rosary/rule of the Theotokos as perfectly Eastern and even originally Eastern - they insisted that its daily recitation was MORE important than akathists, canons or other prayers!

I read this on a Russian Orthodox site on hesychasm.

Alex

To my little and quite unsaintly mind, the best devotions are the ones that hold meaning for the person doing them. Fortunately, there are so many to choose from and, of course, I am quite convinced that Our Lord and the saints like to hear from us whether we are sincerely following scripted prayer or just making up own prayer to suit the occasion. My Orthodox Jewish friend shows such joy - he gives thankful prayers about everyday things that other people don't notice and I'm fascinated by that - I was with him and his wife in a park and he offered a prayer of joy for the Lord's infinite ingenuity in coming up with mallard ducks. Apparently, he likes mallard ducks. He told us all about them for about an hour... He prays before he eats, after he eats, and even upon leaving the men's room. I wish we all could find such joy and cause to express thankfulness in the everyday natural "stuff" we encounter, though, because the world would be a far better place if we did and if we lived in a constant state of wonder at the Almighty's bounty and goodness.

Dear Annie,

Actually, the Christian East has a ritualized system of prayers before and after meals, leaving and returning home and from and to Church etc.

The Old Believers are the greatest observants of these (and they sometimes remind me of Orthodox Jews!).

Alex